Written in Blood
by Yossarian
Summary: Authors come in both good and evil. Read as an epic tale unfolds about the stuggle between good and evil for control of the pokemon world. Authors against authors in a world not their own. *Ch. 3 up!*: The bad guys arrive and plan an attack.
1. Disclaimer and Character List

The Full Disclaimer for Written in Blood: Pokemon does not belong to me

The Full Disclaimer for Written in Blood: Pokemon does not belong to me.It belongs to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, Game Freaks, and 4Kids.I am not making any money off this, so please don't sue as I am a poor college student with no money.However, the concept of the story, the plotline, as well as Yossarian and Reaper actually do belong to me.You may not use them without my permission.

The following authors own the following characters which may also not be used without their permission:

Blaire belongs to Sabrin.Porygon/The Cyber One/Hawkin/Hanako belong to Porygon, The Cyber One.Lurker belongs to Lurker248.ToedWrath belongs to ToedWrath.MT Tasaki and Chibi-H. belong to Meredith T. Tasaki.Damin Corue and Cassie belong to Brilliant Thinker.Josh Rocket belongs to Meowth.Seifer no Miko belongs to Seifer no Miko.BlastSage belongs to BlastSage.Simone DuMarriott belongs to Latonya Wright.Pikajenn and Indigo belong to Pikajenn.Doratsu belongs to Jessica (who, by the way, is not me).Steel Rogue belongs to Dark Meganium.Charmega belongs to Charmega.Angel belongs to Angel.Darkness Master (DM) and Keya belong to Darkness Master.Lady Rapidash (LR) and Angelique belong to Lady Rapidash.Sensei belongs to Sensei.Stephanie belongs to Hells Angel.Rabid Wolf belongs to Rabid Wolf.LavenderEspeon belongs to LavenderEspeon.Kamatake belongs to Fay'Lynne.Articuno belongs to Articuno.

These characters may NOT be used without their owner's express permission, so don't take them.I have permission to use them for this story and this story alone.

Eh, since I might as well add something onto this page, here's the character run-down for reference since there are quite a few people in Written in Blood.

The Authors of Light:

Blaire, the Red Bandanna Bandit.She's possibly the last person you might expect to be fighting on the good side, with her dark demeanor and threatening appearance.She has quite a bit in common with Yossarian, which the evil author finds very frustrating.

Lara, a girl with many personalities.Among them are the pokemon Porygon, a kind doctor lady named Hanako Nakata, a girl known as The Cyber One with ambiguous loyalties, and a wise elderly gentleman (yes, a man) called Hawkin.While most of Lara's personalities may be good, it tends to be very difficult to keep her in one form for any great length of time.

Lurker, a loud, talkative, Asian guy.He's known for being able to befriend just about anyone, although time will tell if that skill can help save the pokemon world.

ToedWrath, a boy who can change into a half-Politoed, half-Poliwrath at will.His heightened senses should provide valuable assistance, as well as his gift for becoming invulnerable in an arctic climate.

M.T. Tasaki, a girl who prefers the spectator's seat.She's quite content to just watch the happenings in the pokemon world with her laptop, but will help out the good side if they get in trouble.

Damin Corue, a green Mewtwo with electrical abilities.Her blind human friend, a woman by the name of Cassie, runs a breeding farm.A Mewtwo is very useful to have on your side.Unfortunately, Damin isn't the only Mewtwo in this story…

Josh Rocket, a 5'9" Meowth hybrid.He once sided with Team Rocket, but since left after a falling out with Butch.His special teleport, hypnosis, and electric skills will come in handy during his mission to protect pokemon from evil.

Seifer no Miko, a girl who hates evil with a passion.She is a big fan of Mewtwo and can be quite friendly.But when she is angered, she is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

BlastSage, a quiet but attentive boy.His ability to read people and notice what others might miss should prove invaluable in the fight to defeat Yossarian.However, his past is rather shadowy and it is quite possible he could be hiding a nasty secret or two.

Simone DuMarriott, a light-skinned African-American girl.With enduring optimism, she believes that everything will turn out for the best.She can charm any animal she meets and she truly cares for her Butterfree, Twiggy, and Growlithe, Wolfgang, and constantly refers to them as "the kids."

Pikajenn, the light-hearted, 25-year-old.This sword-wielding, flying, ki-blasting author travels with her Raichu morph partner, Indigo.She befriended Yossarian in the real world through the internet.It is possible that she might hold some sway over the younger girl…

Doratsu, a Raichu/Dragonite morph.She is slightly insane, thrives on caffeine, and was also friends with Yossarian in the real world.Although she is winged, she prefers to travel using her incredible speed.She is more neutral to the whole controversy in the pokemon world than the others.

The Authors of Dark:

Yossarian, the lead villain.Her mind and ideals have been twisted by constantly witnessing but never experiencing the idyllic world of pokemon.She loves a good mental challenge and, as such, tends to throw out hints and puzzles to the good guys to see if they can figure out her next move.She rarely travels outside her headquarters without Reaper, the Houndoom morph, at her side.

Darkelf, the second in command.This drow is also a close friend to Yossarian in the real world and is completely loyal to her.He is lethal with his No-Daichi sword and the array of spells he has at his command.He lives in his own castle in the pokemon world instead of at Yossarian's base.

Steel Rogue, a master of steel pokemon.Just like his pokemon type of choice, he likes to play the defense instead of offense.He carries a small sword in case he is forced to fight and will do anything…for the right price, that is.

Charmega, a female Charizard anthro.With fire, psychic, and chameleon-like skills, she is a dangerous foe.Being a Charizard, she has quickly earned favor with Yossarian and is often selected for the more elite missions.

Angel, the computer specialist.She acts as a spy and assassin for the bad guys.Her gift of creating illusions is impressive and her fighting prowess is daunting but both are rarely used, as she spends most of her time in the base hacking into computer systems.

Darkness Master, one of the more sane villains.She has a tendency to be extremely outgoing, but she has suffered no mental decay in the pokemon world.With flight, teleport, and shield-creation abilities, she and her partner Keya are most often on the front lines of battles.

Lady Rapidash, a tough fighter.She fights with fire and is able to transform into a Rapidash if the need arises.Though she has sworn allegiance to the dark authors, her loyalties are often questioned due to the fact that an angel, Angelique, follows her and tries to turn her to the side of good.

Sensei, a wise young man.He is highly intelligent, possibly the smartest of all the dark authors.Yossarian often comes to him for advice, which is one of the few times he will actually talk.He also can turn himself into a ghost-form, giving him the powers of a ghost pokemon and the ability to understand pokemon language.

Stephanie, the Hell's Angel.She is a vicious fighter, armed with a three-foot-long sword, and demonic in appearance with her devil tail and wings.She is often hyper, though she can become serious when the need arises.She despises Tracey Sketchit and seems to have some interest in Reaper.

Rabid Wolf, a human/wolf hybrid.Her legs are that of a wolf and she has a wolf's tail, as well as a wolf's senses.She can blend into any background, and carries a dagger and a bow with poison-tipped arrows.She is loyal to Yossarian and Yossarian only.She will take orders from no one else.

LavenderEspeon, a purple-clad villain.While she is very swift in coming up with strategies against the good authors, she is not often the one who acts on these strategies.She likes to keep a clear conscience and will be more lenient with prisoners than the other dark authors.A purple jewel on her necklace can heal any blade-inflicted wound.

Kamatake, a very nasty Mewthree.This variant of a Mewtwo has only one thing on her mind: her own advancement.She is a powerful pokemon, a valuable ally for the dark authors, but her constant attempts to undermine Yossarian could prove to be a fatal error, especially with the psychic-hating Reaper eagerly awaiting to do away with her.

Articuno, an excellent bodyguard.At five feet tall, he is significantly shorter than Yossarian, yet he serves as her bodyguard when Reaper is not around.His flight ability, super strength, and gift of never tiring also make him formidable on the battlefield.


	2. Beginning of an Epic

Author's Notes: Okay, I got the first chapter out

Author's Notes: Okay, I got the first chapter out!Yippee!But there's some bad news: not everyone is in this first part.The only ones who appear are me, Reaper, Doratsu, and the many personalities of The Cyber One.This is just sort of an opener for the rest of the story, so never fear!In the next chapter, a lot of the authors of light should appear, as well as a few of the authors of dark.Also, The Cyber One's entrance was written by The Cyber One herself, so she gets all the credit for writing that part.Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first part of Written in Blood!

"Fanfiction authors are among some of the most often mocked people in the world.If one should even mention that they write stories based off a TV show or a book or a movie, they would most likely be laughed at by those who do not write fanfiction.These underappreciated authors can only find solace with other authors.Birds of a feather…

"But those non-writers would choke on their laughter if they knew the fanfiction author's secret.In fact, if all those other people knew, the art would no longer be called fan_fiction.Yes, the authors have an inexplicable, almost magical ability: they can see into the world they write about.This gift, this second sight, is unknown to the rest of the world.It is the silent, unspoken pact that all authors have with each other.They must never reveal the Sight to those who are blind to it.And, to this day, they have kept the secret safe._

"But there is more to the secret than just the Sight.There is also the Manipulation.As the author watches the distant world they write about, they also have the opportunity to change it with their words.It should go without saying that with such power also comes responsibility.Control over the small inhabitants of the distant world should be carefully maintained.

"However, while some consider the Sight to be a gift, it can also be a curse.Imagine for one second that a person can see into a wonderful, idyllic little world, such as…oh, say, the world of pokemon.Imagine being able to see that world and every single happy little person running around in their happy little lives.They don't have to worry about wars, poverty, starvation, even getting a passing grade in school.No, they just worry about catching more pokemon and collecting badges and the occasional attack from Team Rocket.It's not right.It's not _fair_!Why should authors be forced to only watch and never participate?There must be a way around it…

"And I have found it.

"It was so simple.All that was required was a self-insertion fic.It took little time to write, and even less time to implement it.As the story was written, my form and conscious were merged with that of my fanfiction self.And now, now that the story is finished, I am here.Finally, I have reached the pokemon world.

"I must admit that I was slightly surprised that I still had the Sight and the Manipulation.It was strange at first, then it became almost like a game to still play author to all the inhabitants of Pokemon World.But the game wasn't enough for me.I was sure I could put the Manipulation to better use than just interfering in the meaningless lives of random individuals.That was when I realized that with my Sight and Manipulation, I could hold this world in the palm of my hand.I was practically omnipotent as an author in her own literary world.

"I believe that brings us up to speed."

The girl smiled and leaned back in the chair she was sitting in, kicking her heels up onto the desk.The tall boy standing on the other side of the desk nodded slowly, taking in the information.

"And you say that you…created me?"

"Yes, Reaper, I created you.I made you to be the ultimate antagonist."

"If you're as powerful as you say you are, why do you need an army of humanity to help you take over our world?"

"A good question.It's true that I could use the Manipulation to dominate this world in less than a day, but that would be too obvious to all the other authors.The last thing we need is a damn 'heroic' author figuring out how to come here.So, are you with me or not?"

Reaper smiled slightly, revealing his fangs."We shall crush all resistance." 

****

The forest practically hummed with the chatter of wild pokemon.The whole area was alive with nature.In fact, the voices of the resident pokemon all had a cheerful edge to them.

"Pidgey!"

"Wee-weedle!"

"Metapod!"

"Yeeee-HAAAAAA!"

The sudden, loud shout silenced nearly all the forest creatures.They looked around, trying to find the source of the noise.Then, several pokemon were nearly blown out of the trees they were sitting in as an insanely fast _something_ shot by, its speed creating a huge whirlwind behind it.Almost as quickly as it had appeared, the speeding thing abruptly screeched to a halt.It was only then that the pokemon of this forest could get a good look at the newcomer.

The new thing, a female, was like nothing they had ever seen before.She seemed to be a mix of human, Raichu, and Dragonite.The new person had a Raichu's ears and face, although the eyes and mouth were obviously human.A short yellow horn parted her light-green hair on her forehead, and she had a Dragonite's antennae sticking out from the middle of her head.She had Raichu fur covering her entire body and the distinct Raichu tail, although it had scales mixed in with the fur on it.From her shoulders sprung a pair of large pink wings.Her hands and feet each had three digits, all of them tipped with long, sharp claws.She was dressed in a light violet T-shirt and jeans and her green eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Hi, forest!" she called excitedly."I'm in a hyper mood!"Strangely, the forest did not answer her.The Raichu-Dragonite-human frowned slightly.With arms folded across her chest and foot tapping the ground, she waited impatiently for some sort of response.Finally, the response came, although not in the manner that she had been expecting.

In the middle of an isolated forest— not any one in particular, just one with lots of trees and so on—there was quite suddenly another person.In the few moments she was there, she would have answered to the name of Lara.She would have explained how she got there, why she felt like being there, and so on, and so forth.However, something quite odd happened next.Several wild pokemon nearly fainted immediately at the shock of it.

It seemed that this person was a ghost, or something not quite solid; at any rate, a number of beings simply walked out of her, as one would a shadow, into vision.

Firstly, a Porygon scooted out enthusiastically, whizzing above the ground, whirling into a U-turn and finally stopping, facing the person.Secondly, a woman dressed as a scientist stepped out quite calmly.She turned around and stretched her arm inside the person, helping out a considerably older man.When she let go of his arm, he tipped his hat to her in gratitude.

And then came out a person looking quite like Lara, only rather blurry in appearance, very indistinct, and dressed much more eccentrically—gray shirt and pants, mismatched gloves, and green-and-black striped towel over one shoulder caught one's eye, followed by the silver ring forced over a glove's finger, and the silver-tipped staff.These were only four of many, but none present got a chance to count.A second after they all had appeared, they all disappeared—except for one.

The old man, however, could still see them all, hear them all, and talk to them all quite comfortably.Except for the first, Lara, herself, was not there. These people were, in fact, all the various parts of her; so, really, she was there, only...suffering schizophrenia.

And, at the moment, this man—Hawkin—was "in charge."

"Yes, Porygon," he said to apparently himself, "you're quite welcome.Just don't run off on me."He turned his head slightly."Hanako, don't worry. It would have gotten here if I hadn't helped."

What would have alarmed any pokemon who had just arrived was the sudden change of the old man into the Porygon seen earlier. They might also have been alarmed by the fact that it could talk "human."

"Hanako, you're worrying more than Hawkin there; and if he's not worried, then you shouldn't, either. He's the expert."

Hanako, the scientist, invisible to the world, moaned to herself. _"He's only not worried because Cyber got to him."_

There was an indignant grunt. _"That's The__ Cyber One__, thank you, _

_Hanako," said the teenaged Cyber One, __"and I didn't even speak to him since Porygon bugged him. I think Hawkin knows when to worry."_

_"Perhaps when you're about," Hawkin suggested. __"And perhaps I should be worried about the reason I brought you here for, too - rather than just pure entertainment."_

All eyes turned towards Hawkin.

_"I told you you've been near Cyber for too long," Hanako complained, __"now you're getting all melodramatic."_

"That was me," piped up Porygon, much to the wild pokemon's surprise. 

(Porygon was the only one they could hear.)

_"Anyway, if you'll just head out that way"—and here Hawkin pointed—__"you might find yourself with something 'fun' to do."_

Porygon's eyes lit up with happiness, and quite suddenly the little pokemon sped in that direction. The invisible people simply floated along with their physical counterpart at an equal speed, bickering, talking, and in general being themselves.

As the Porygon darted away, the pokemorph girl followed silently after.She watched the other pokemon curiously, wondering where it had come from and, more importantly, why it was talking to itself.As she trailed the Porygon, it suddenly "blipped" into a different person.It was now the teenage girl holding a staff and with a towel slung over one shoulder.At this point, the pokemorph could no longer contain her curiosity.She ran right up beside the girl and tapped her on the shoulder.The teenager turned and looked at the Raichu-Dragonite-human, though her expression showed no surprise at seeing such an odd creature.

"Hey, just who are you and how'd you get here?" the pokemorph asked.

"Me?" the girl pointed to herself."Why, I'm The Cyber One, author extraordinaire and member of Freaks United."She punctuated the statement by shouting, "Fu!" at the top of her lungs.

"You're an author?Wow, so am I!" the pokemorph exclaimed."I'm Doratsu.How'd you get here, anyway?"

_"Oh, she's going to be sorry she asked you that," Hawkin said with a tired sigh._

"I can explain it just as well as you can," said The Cyber One indignantly to the personality that hovered at her side.Then she turned back to Doratsu."Hawkin is an expert at fiction-travel, which is how we get into different story worlds.Isn't that how you got here?"

"Heck, I don't even remember how I got here," Doratsu told her cheerfully."I've been here so long, I barely remember the world I came from."

_"Does she mean she's trapped in this pokemon world?" Hanako asked._

_"Hmm…" Hawkin mused.__"I've heard of this before: authors journeying unknowingly into a world and either choosing to stay or getting stuck there.This Doratsu must be one of the Lost Authors."_

"Maybe you should ask her about the problem that got you all worried," The Cyber One said aloud.Doratsu gave her a strange look.

"Um, who are you talking to?" the pokemorph asked.

The Cyber One blinked at the interruption, then grinned."Oh, just the voices in my head!"No sooner had she finished her sentence than she had blipped into her Hawkin personality.The change caused Doratsu to jump back slightly.

"Excuse me, miss," the elderly man began politely, "but have you noticed anything strange happening in this world?I had this feeling that something was awry here, but I cannot pinpoint the exact cause of my unease."

"Uh…Besides you showing up and changing into a different person every few minutes, I can't really think of anything," Doratsu said."Oh, except for that one thing."

"And what one thing is that?" he prompted.

"Someone's trying to take over the pokemon world."

"WHAT?!" every single personality exclaimed, though only Hawkin's voice was heard by Doratsu.

"Yeah, there's been a big uprising.People in Team Rocket uniforms are causing trouble all over the place.I don't think they are Team Rocket, though, 'cause they don't say that dumb motto every time they do something illegal.And they're a lot meaner, too."At that point, Doratsu glanced up at the sun."Whoa, look at the time.I better get going.I've got places to go, things to set on fire, you know.Have a good time in the pokemon world!"With a cry of "Wheeeee!", the pokemorph took off, running at top speed right out of the forest, leaving Hawkin and the three other personalities standing in shock.

_"Well, there goes our chance for fun," Porygon said wistfully._

_"Yeah.You just know Hawkin and Hanako are going to want to save the world now," The Cyber One added._

_"There is nothing wrong with wanting to save the world," Hanako told the two personalities in a mother-chiding-children way._

"Hanako's right," Hawkin agreed."It's our job to protect all the worlds, especially the ones authors play around in.We shall protect this world, no matter what the cost!"

_"Don't you think we should see what we're up against?" Hanako suggested.__"It's all well and good to dash off like heroes, but we have no idea who this person is or why they're trying to conquer the pokemon world."_

Hawkin then changed into Porygon, who said, "Don't worry, I'll check it out."The little pokemon shut its eyes, using the author ability of Sight to try and locate their opponent.It could clearly see the entire pokemon world, and its vision zoomed around, searching for any sort of "evil" aura.Strangely, it could pick up nothing, nothing except—

"Author!" Porygon exclaimed."There's another author here besides us and that Doratsu character!"

_"Is it a good author or a bad author?" The Cyber One asked, trying to do her best Glenda, Good Witch of the North imitation._

"How am I supposed to know?" the pokemon snapped."The Sight doesn't pick up author specifics."

_"People in Team Rocket uniforms acting a lot harsher than normal.Creating a crueler faction of Team Rocket is an often used plot device by authors.It seems to me that we are dealing with a dark author, my friends," said Hawkin._

_"We'll need authors of light to combat a dark author," Hanako stated.__"And there's only one place to go to find a decent collection of authors."_

"Well, looks like I'm the one nominated to get some light author allies," Porygon commented.It glowed brightly for a moment, then vanished, sending its computer-coded form into the cyberspace of the real world.It was time to find some authors of light.

Author's End Notes: And so part one comes to a close with Porygon heading off to find good guys.I have no idea when the next part will be out, but I'll try to be quick about it.Oh, and as a final note, if anyone has a burning desire to write their own intro like The Cyber One did, just let me know.Don't feel obligated or anything, it's only if you really want to.Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review!


	3. The Light Gathers

Author's Notes: What

Author's Notes:What?I actually got something up on time?!I know, I'm amazed, too.Anyway, this is the chapter that introduces the good guys (but just barely.I'll expand into the individual characters in the next chapter.) with the exception of M.T. Tasaki.Never fear, M.T., as you will be in the next chapter, as well as the introduction to the rest of the villains.Also, Blaire's intro (written in first person and in italics) was written by Blaire herself, so give props where props are due.I personally think it works very well being written in first person.Okay, enough babbling!Here's chapter two!

Chapter 2—The Light Gathers

"Reaper, do you know what my favorite type of pokemon is?"

"Well, considering I'm part Houndoom and you own that Charizard, I would have to say you're partial to fire pokemon."

"Very good," she said with a smile."And I think it would be fun to have an army of fire pokemon.Can't you imagine them burning cities that refuse to submit to my will and wiping out little pockets of resistance with white-hot flames?"She leaned back against Reaper, her head resting on his chest."Just thinking about it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, you know?"

"I agree.There's nothing better than the screams of those being burned to death," Reaper said, grinning down at the girl.She flashed him a grin as well.

"It would take a lot of time and effort to run all over the place trying to find fire types in the wild.Do you know if there's a place where we can find them in high concentration?"

"There are legends of a place called the Valley of Fallen Embers that is said to be the home of hundreds, if not thousands, of fire pokemon.Unfortunately, it's also supposed to be impossible to find."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," the girl said slyly.She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated on seeing the Valley of Fallen Embers.Her vision zoomed over the lands of Kanto and Johto until it settled on a ridge of mountains.She examined the image in her mind, finding the hidden entrance that led to a valley filled with all different types of fire pokemon.The girl smiled in victory.

"I've got it," she said."Get ready, Reaper, because tomorrow we collect the matches that will start our wonderful fires."

****

_It was night.The sky was blacker than coal and wind snapped through the air like a cracking whip.I stood on the cliff, watching, thinking.The terrain in front of me was shadowed and lush with green.Thunder called out through the valley as lightning responded, sending its glare slicing through the clouds.I clamped my hand into a fist as the wind blew my red hair away from my shoulders.My black trenchcoat waved at the rim near the middle of my thighs as the darkness neared.It had been five years now that I had come into the Pokemon world.I had become famous now, saving villages from Team Rocket.Hoof-steps on dirt broke me from my trance, and I turned around to find Bandit, my faithful and loyal Bandit, near me._

_"You can sense it to, eh, Bandit?" I whispered softly, stroking the Rapidash's fiery mane."Something's amiss."_

_Bandit snorted, rubbing his horn against my coated arm._

_"Which side shall we join, Bandit?Evil or good?" I asked softly as Bandit put his white head on my shoulder.He whinnied softly, looking out at the stormy sky.I stood in silence for a while, watching the storm and feeling Bandit's heart beat.Idly stroking Bandit's soft hair, my hand touched the blood red bandanna he wore.I felt my matching cloth around my neck.I was him and he was me.We are one.I looked into Bandit's fire red eyes and saw fire.The fire was comforting and good.Those eyes said a message._

_Something I couldn't understand._

_"What do you mean, Bandit?What are you trying to tell me?" I asked, pulling Bandit's face to mine.Bandit snorted, stamping the ground with a navy blue hoof on the hard-packed ground.We stared at one another, and I finally sighed in defeat._

_"Maybe I'll do something worthwhile someday. Something that will make my life meaningful," I thought."Is that what you are telling me, Bandit?"_

_Thunder bellowed as it drove its storm closer.I swung onto Bandit's back in one quick, liquid movement.Like fireworks, five bright fireballs erupted bellow us.They were telling us that all was well in the five small parts of the small, hidden valley.Bandit shot a fireball over the valley, telling the five protectors we were there._

_"Wait until you can grow wings and fly, my Bandit.Then nothing will stop us," I whispered softly as Bandit's fireball frizzled out. "Just wait."_

_It is a foolish dream, for a Rapidash can't evolve any farther than a Rapidash.But I have always felt Bandit was special, and would one day take me flying on wings of white and tipped with fire._

_"Let's go, Bandit.This is our area, and no evil or good shall take it," I proclaimed in a strong, but little emotion voice._

_Bandit whinnied loudly, and his mane of fire lit up brightly.I could picture the scene we made.A bright fireball on the edge of a cliff looking over the dark and quiet __Valley__ of __Fallen Embers__.It was our sign…warning intruders not to mess with the __Valley__ of __Fallen Embers__._

_Our valley would be safe for now.We were the guardians, and our fire "people" would be safe.For now.For now, the Red Bandanna Bandit was here.For now._

****

"Spam, spam, porn, spam," mumbled the African-American girl as she deleted the garbage from her new e-mail folder.This girl, known as Latonya Wright in the real world, leaned back in her chair and shut her eyes for a moment, giving them a break from the glare of the computer monitor.She was dressed in a blue sundress decorated with white lilies and a white jacket.A black beret, one she was never seen without, rested on top of her head.

"I am so bored," she commented to no one in particular.Latonya let her thoughts drift to some of the adventures she had seen in the pokemon world using her author's Sight.A new adventure for Ash and his friends every day.Not at all like the real world."Nothing interesting ever happens in the real world," she said aloud.

"Well, that's about to change!" a voice called out.

Latonya's eyes shot open.To her amazement, a little Porygon was hovering on the computer screen. Latonya rubbed her eyes to make sure she was not seeing things.No, the computerized pokemon was still there.

"Hi!" the Porygon exclaimed."Are you the author who goes by the handle 'Simone DuMarriott'?"

"Uh…yes, I am," she answered somewhat hesitantly.It boggled the mind that she was actually having a conversation with a digitized piece of data.Even stranger, that piece of data was talking back.

"Great!You're the last one we could find to recruit," the pokemon said.

"Recruit?What are you talking about?"

"How'd you like to save the world?Well, not the real world, but the pokemon world?Bad stuff's happening and—Yes, I'm getting to that part!Geez, no need to get impatient!Like I was saying, we've gotta save the pokemon world from a big, mean, not to mention evil author.You wanna help, don't you?"

Latonya was quiet for a moment, thinking about what the Porygon had just said.Finally, she asked, "You mean, I could go to the pokemon world?"

"Well, you'd have to if you want to save it."

"Wow!I'd love to go there!" the girl exclaimed in glee."But…how do I get there?"

"Simple," the pokemon said."Just put your hand on the monitor and leave the rest of the work to me."

Without another word, Latonya did just as Porygon had said.The second her palm touched the computer's screen, the world around her disappeared.For who knows how long, she felt as though she were falling yet not falling.The sensation was hard to describe.The best way Latonya could describe it was as if her body were standing still but her mind was plummeting.As her mind fell, new information was fed directly into her brain.Her name was no longer Latonya, it was Simone DuMarriott.She was a pokemon trainer now, with a Growlithe named Wolfgang and a Butterfree named Twiggy.When her mind stopped falling, Latonya of the real world had become Simone of the pokemon world.

Suddenly, Simone was standing in the middle of a field amid a small group of assorted beings.She looked around, still slightly dazed.To her right, she saw two guys talking.One was Asian with short, slightly spiky hair wearing dark blue jeans and a black and white shirt.The guy he was talking to was shorter, standing around five feet tall, with brown hair and was dressed in navy blue shorts and a teal T-shirt with black, white, beige, and dirty green stripes across it.Just behind those two was a group of three.A tall girl with straight blond hair and wearing jeans and a lilac tank top was talking animatedly with a very large Meowth.The Meowth looked to be about 5'9' and had humanlike hands, giving it a pokemorph-type appearance.The third member of the group, a tall, black-haired young man in white khakis and a blue T-shirt and black vest, was fairly quiet.He seemed content to just listen to the girl and the Meowth talk.

Simone looked to her left where the last three members of the group stood.A girl in her late teens with brown hair was dressed similarly to Seifer Almasy, a character Simone had seen in Final Fantasy VIII.The Seifer girl was wearing the same trenchcoat and necklace as the Final Fantasy character and also had on black army boots and gray fingerless gloves.That girl was standing near a seven-foot-tall Mewtwo with jungle-green fur covering her body, dark green fur on her abdomen and tail, and a tuft of hair on top of her head.The third person, or rather pokemon, was the Porygon that had appeared on Simone's computer.When the pokemon caught sight of Simone, it floated away from the Seifer girl and Mewtwo and hovered in front of the entire group.

"Everyone, listen up!" it said loudly to get everyone's attention.All eyes turned to Porygon."You all know that you're here to fight a dark author, right?"There were murmurs of agreement.

"Hey, just who is this bad author?" asked the Asian boy."You haven't even told us his name, yet."

"That's because I don't know the author's identity!" Porygon answered with a bit of annoyance.It seemed about to say something else, but instead it turned its head as if listening to something.

"Um, what's going on? Simone whispered to the Seifer girl, who was now standing next to her.

"I don't know.I think it hears voices or something," she explained.

"Oh no!" Porygon suddenly squawked.It turned back to the group of authors."We'll have to wait until later to introduce ourselves.The Cyber One says she just picked up on a bunch of Team Rocket lackeys attacking a valley of fire pokemon.Authors, let's move!"The pokemon flew off and the rest of the authors followed a little more hesitantly.Each one could not help but wonder just what they had gotten into.

****

Blaire, the Red Bandana Bandit, had known something was wrong in the pokemon world, but she had never expected it to affect the valley so fast.Dropping the dinner she had been eating, she came running at the sound of the panicked whinny from Bandit.She charged up the side of the hill that overlooked the Valley of Fallen Embers.When she reached the top, she gasped at what she saw below.

The valley was in chaos.Fire raged uncontrollably through the vegetation while the pokemon scrambled to escape from a legion of humans.Blaire's expression darkened as she recognized the black uniforms the humans were wearing: Team Rocket.Each person was supplied with some sort of water cannon, which they sprayed at the fire pokemon unmercifully.As the fire types weakened, they were easily captured by the Rockets.The valley was almost empty of pokemon by now.

"I don't believe it," Blaire said, "Team Rocket.Bandit, let's go!"She jumped on the Rapidash's back and the pair dashed headlong into the valley to try and protect the innocent pokemon there.During the gallop down the slope, Blaire could not help but wonder how in the world those criminals had found the valley.It was supposed to be hidden from anyone who would dare to defile it.

When Blaire and Bandit reached the bottom of the hill, the Team Rocket forces were already starting to pull out.She refused to let them escape with the pokemon they had abducted from the valley.

"Bandit, Rapid Fire!" Blaire shouted.The Rapidash immediately opened his mouth and launched the specialized attack at the criminals.The fireballs were too fast to outrun, so they crashed to the ground ahead of the Rockets, creating a blazing wall to block the exit of the valley.The Rockets were forced to halt.

"You will release the pokemon you have stolen or suffer the consequences!" Blaire declared loudly as she rode up to them.Her Rapidash snorted and pawed the ground angrily.He was obviously ready to scorch anyone who did not obey.

"I beg to differ," a voice called from above.Blaire glanced up, slightly surprised but not letting the emotion show on her face.Circling down from the smoke-filled sky was a huge Charizard with black wings. As the creature descended, Blaire could see someone riding on its back.When the Charizard landed, its rider, a girl in her late teens, slid off its back.She was tall, standing at about 5'10" and had shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes that stared at Blaire mockingly.

Blaire just glared at the girl."I said let those pokemon go."

The stranger looked her over once, then seemed to lose interest.She turned to her Charizard and said, "Steerpike, fan out the flames.Everyone, head back to headquarters."Her gaze went back to the girl on the Rapidash."I can deal with one little girl and her horsey."

"I'll show you what a girl and her horsey can do," Blaire growled."Bandit, fry her with Flame—"

"Hiding behind your animal?" the girl said with disdain."How pathetic.Why not face me one-on-one?Mano a mano, so to speak."

"Bandit, hold the attack," Blaire ordered.Her horse pokemon let the fire die down, halting the Flamethrower.Blaire jumped off Bandit and stood in front of the other girl.One hand rested on the Rapidash's neck just in case she should need to order the pokemon to attack.

The girl smirked cruelly."Willing to play by my rules, eh?How noble of you.And, to show my respect, I'll give you a guarantee.I win, me and my friends here walk out of your valley with a lovely new army of fire pokemon.You win, we leave empty-handed and we'll even send you an apology bouquet.Do we have a deal?"The girl extended one hand.Blaire gave her a skeptical look, then reached out and shook her hand.If this girl played fair, Blaire knew she could win since she was skilled in the martial arts.

"Good, we have an agreement.Oh, by the way, Reaper will be fighting for my team.I hope you don't mind."With a harsh laugh, the girl jumped back from Blaire.A huge Rocket stepped out from the group and walked up to face Blaire.Standing at 6'6", he towered over the girl.He appeared to be a pokemorph, sporting the horns, tail, and claws of a Houndoom.He grinned maliciously, baring deadly fangs.

Blaire gasped and took a step back."Wait, this isn't—"

"Fair?" the girl finished for her."Of course not!That's why I'm a villain.Reaper, be a dear and take her out."

Before Blaire could react, the Houndoom morph slammed his fist into her stomach.The hit sent her flying backwards.Bandit whinnied and ran to where she had fallen.He nuzzled her with his soft nose.The girl sat up painfully, spitting out blood.She wrapped one arm around her stomach, wincing in agony.She tried to stand, but she just could not seem to get her legs to obey.Then a shadow fell over her.

"Aw, is that it?" the strange girl said, sounding disappointed."I thought you would last longer than that."She shrugged."Oh well.I hope you learned a lesson from all this: don't cross Yossarian."The girl calling herself Yossarian laughed maniacally and walked away.She climbed back onto her Charizard, taking to the air and flying away from the valley, leading the Rockets away.

Blaire, still on the ground, watched them leave through hazy vision.She had no idea where that Yossarian and Reaper had come from or why they wanted fire pokemon.But she did know one thing: they would pay for desecrating the Valley of Fallen Embers.They would pay with their lives.

Author's End Notes: And there you have it.I think the main reason I chose to have the authors of light intro focus on Latonya was because she had this cool kind of regular, everyday person thing going on.Also, for those of you wondering about the origins of my Charizard's name, Steerpike is named after the wonderfully nasty villain from the book _Gormenghast_.Technically, I haven't read all of the book yet, but I saw the miniseries and the guy who played Steerpike was HOT!Er…I seem to be disturbingly attracted to evil…


	4. The Darkness Spreads

Author's Notes: Hmm…Let me just check my reviews here and…Oh, will you look at that?  Both Sabrin and some Crazy Bird Man (AKA Articuno) want me to get off my lazy butt and write the next chapter!  Well, here it is, after making you wait far too long.  On the plus side, however, it's longer than an average chapter.  All the bad guys (with the exception of Kamatake, who will show up later) get introduced.  Personally, I like the first half of this chapter, but I think it gets kinda blah in the second half.  I'll try to do better next time and I'll try to get the next chapter out faster.  (Note to self: Don't cheat good guys out of screen time!)  Also, the totally awesome Sabrin is in the process of writing a total backstory for Blaire, her character.  I believe it's called "Fire's Legend" and you should all go read it.  And, for the X-Men: Evolution fans, she's got "Rings of Fire," which is her dark author-fic, and I'm in it!  I'm a crazy dragon-girl mutant!  Yay!

Chapter 3—The Darkness Spreads

Blaire slowly became aware of a large shape standing over her.  As her senses sharpened as she returned to consciousness, the girl heard someone apparently speaking to the shape.

"I think it's working, Chansey.  Maybe one more Soft-Boiled will get her completely fixed up."

With a groan, Blaire sat up, pushing the Chansey away from her.  "No, I'm fine.  Don't waste your pokemon's strength."  She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear all the sleep from her vision.  It was darker now, but that did not affect Blaire's sight.  She turned slightly to see who had been talking earlier.  The speaker was a girl with wavy brown hair that fell just below her shoulders.  She was dressed in a purple top and light-blue skirt and had glasses and a pen tucked behind her right ear.  There was Pidgeotto sitting on her shoulder and the Chansey was now sitting beside her.

"Are you okay?  It looked like you took a nasty hit when I got here," the girl commented.  She seemed genuinely concerned about Blaire.  "Not to mention that your Rapidash was about to burn me to a crisp until it realized I was here to help you."

At the reminder of her pokemon, Blaire immediately glanced around the area looking for him.  Then she heard Bandit's soft steps on the grass and felt him nuzzle her shoulder from behind.  With a relieved sigh, Blaire reached up and rubbed the horse pokemon's nose.  She then looked back at the girl.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is M.T. Tasaki.  And, if my guess is correct, you're the Red Bandana Bandit."  At Blaire's nod, M.T. smiled in satisfaction.  "I knew it.  I just wish I had gotten here earlier.  I might have been able to stop that Yossarian chick from stealing all the pokemon."

Blaire's eyes narrowed.  "How did you know about her?"

"Oh, I don't work with her or anything!" M.T. said quickly, an anime sweatdrop appearing on the side of her head.  "I just saw the very end of your fight with her on my laptop."  The girl pointed to a small computer lying on the ground near her.  Blaire hadn't noticed it earlier or the strange staff that was next to it.

"You're an author, aren't you?" Blaire asked, though she was fairly sure of the answer.  How else could this girl have been watching the fight through her laptop?

M.T. nodded.  "You got that right.  And you are, too."

Blaire frowned.  "No, not anymore.  I haven't done anything like that for over five years.  I just protect the pokemon world now."

"Uh…huh," M.T. said slowly.  "Okay, whatever you say.  Listen, you've got some friends about to show up, so I'll just be taking my leave right now.  If you guys need any help, I'll find you.  Until then!"  With that, M.T. recalled her Chansey, picked up her laptop and staff, then walked off into the darkness.  Blaire stood up, preparing to follow her, when she heard several voices shout.  She turned around to see a large group running towards her.  Deciding they weren't important at the time, Blaire looked back to find M.T.  Strangely, the girl had completely vanished from sight.  

"Hey!  Hey, you!" the apparent leader of the group, a Porygon, called out.  "Did you happen to see Team Rocket around here?"

Still wondering what happened to the mysterious girl, Blaire crossed her arms over her chest and faced the group.  She sneered slightly at them.

"Some heroes," she said flatly.  "You're a few hours too late to stop them from stealing all the pokemon in this valley."

The Porygon blinked.  "Oh.  Well, we'll get them next time!" it said cheerfully.  "Anyway, we have to worry more about that dark author."

This caught Blaire's attention.  Even Bandit snorted and pawed the earth angrily.  "A dark author?  What do you know about this author?"

"Nothing, really.  Just that he might be associated with Team Rocket."

Blaire nodded, closing her eyes.  "The author you're looking for is a girl, not a guy.  Her name's Yossarian."

"No way!"  The older girl with straight blond hair walked forward.  "Are you sure we're dealing with someone named Yossarian?"

"Yes," Blaire said.  "She said her name was Yossarian, she had a Charizard, and she had some monster she called 'Reaper' with her."

The blond girl groaned.  "Yep, that's the Yossarian I know.  Damn, this is going to suck."  She looked concerned for a moment, but recovered and smiled at Blaire.  "By the way, the name's Pikajenn.  Here, let me introduce you to my fellow authors…"  She pointed to each one, saying their names as she went.  "The Asian guy there is Lurker and the kid next to him is ToedWrath," she said, pointing to the boy in the striped shirt and navy shorts.  "That green Mewtwo is named Damin and the big Meowth is Josh Rocket, but he's not with Team Rocket anymore.  Then we have Seifer no Miko, she's the one dressed up like Seifer Almasy, and BlastSage is that guy dressed in the khakis and black vest, and that girl in the beret is Simone.  Finally, the one who brought us all together is this little Porygon."

Just as Pikajenn introduced the pokemon, it suddenly changed into Hawkin.  There were several shouts of surprise.  Blaire simply raised an eyebrow and looked at Pikajenn.

"Do you all do that?"

"Uh…actually, we didn't even know it—er, he did that."

Blaire placed a hand over her eyes and slowly shook her head.  "Great.  This is going to be just _great_."

****

"Dammit!" Yossarian snarled.  She slammed her hand down on her desk in anger as she remembered the group she saw while leaving the Valley of Fallen Embers.  "I can't believe we've already got heroes here."

"You want me to take care of them?" Reaper asked, a hint of eagerness slipping into his voice.

Yossarian shook her head.  "No.  We can't go after other authors like that, not yet.  Right now, I think it would be wiser to call for allies."

"Allies?"

"Yes.  I've got one in particular for you to recruit by any means necessary.  I think his skills will prove useful."  She handed the Houndoom morph a slip of paper.  He looked at it for a moment, then cast a skeptical glance at his boss.

"He's in your world.  How do you expect me to get to him?"

She smiled slightly.  "I can send you there, but only for a brief amount of time.  I trust you can get the job done?"

Reaper bared his fangs cruelly.  "As you said, by any means necessary."

"That's what I like to hear.  Give me a few minutes to write up something for you, then prepare for a trans-dimensional journey."

***

Jase sighed and tossed his backpack on the floor.  He had just come back from school and he was in a less than joyful mood.  He'd had to deal with people accusing him of Satanism all day just because he was Wiccan, and to top that all off, Courtney, a hideously preppy girl in his class, kept hitting on him no matter what he did.  

He dropped down in the chair at his computer and signed on to the internet.  Jase knew he would only have a short while before his parents came home and started making him do chores, so he wanted to check his e-mail before then.  As he logged on to his account, he saw that he had a new message from Jess, his online friend and fellow fanfic author.  Jase grinned and opened the e-mail.  Strangely, there was no cheerful introduction like normal.  Instead, Jess had written "Read this aloud and imagine it happening as you do," followed by some sort of story excerpt.  With a shrug, Jase figured that he might as well do what the e-mail said.  After all, no harm ever came from reading an e-mail.

"'Jase sat down to read his newest e-mails,'" he began, thinking that it was a weird beginning.  He continued anyway.  "'He had just begun reading something from his friend Yossarian and did not notice the shadows behind him beginning to take shape.'"  Jase instinctively glanced behind himself.  There was nothing there, of course, and he felt silly for looking.  "'While he read the story excerpt from Yossarian's latest venture into the pokemon realm, the shadows formed the tall shape of The Reaper, her most prized character.  Suddenly, before Jase could react, the'—Mmph!"  

Jase's reading was cut off as a clawed hand clamped over his mouth.  He struggled to pry the hand off, but it proved impossible.  The hand's grip tightened on his face and he was lifted out of the chair.  

"My, my, what a wonderfully vivid imagination.  Yossarian thought it would be more difficult than this," a voice said to him mockingly.  Jase's eyes widened.  He knew that voice!  It was the same one that ran through his head whenever he read dialogue for The Reaper in one of Yoz's stories!

Reaper grunted slightly as if he had been hit by something.  "She was right.  Time is very short here.  Let's get back, shall we?"  He began to read the words on the screen.  "'He struggled, but nothing could break the Houndoom morph's grip.  It was difficult to breathe and Jase felt himself start to lose consciousness.  As his eyes closed, he could have sworn that the world was dissolving around him, as if he were being teleported somewhere else.'"

Sure enough, those were the exact thoughts Jase was having as he blacked out.

***

"I said _gently_, you idiots!  Move him _gently_!  Trans-dimensional travel through stories is not a pleasant process, and I don't want him hurt any more than he has to be."

He woke up to the sound of that voice.  It was definitely a girl and, judging by the way she was shouting orders, she was in charge of whatever was going on.  He opened his eyes slowly, squinting in the bright glare of fluorescent lighting.  That was odd, considering he'd never had a problem with bright lights before.

"Hey, boss, I think he's waking up," a male voice said this time.

"Good.  You guys can leave.  We'll deal with him," the girl answered.  He heard the sound of footsteps leaving the room, as well as a different set walking towards him.  He could just barely make out the person's figure in front of him as she spoke.  "Why are you squinting like that?"

"The lights are hurting my eyes," he explained.

"Oh, right.  I forgot about the drow's sensitivity to light.  Reaper, could you dim the lights for Darkelf?"

"Of course."  The room immediately became doused in shadows.

"Now can you see?" the girl asked.

He nodded and opened his eyes all the way.  In front of him stood a tall girl, probably about 19 years old, with dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders and hazel eyes.  She was dressed in a simple black T-shirt and jeans.  

"You recognize me?"

"Are you…Yossarian?"

"Yeah.  Nice to finally meet you, Darkelf."

"Darkelf?  Why do you keep calling me that?" he asked.  "No, wait…that _is_ my name, isn't it?"

"Yep," Yossarian replied.  "It's your author manifestation.  Go ahead and look at yourself."

Darkelf did as he was told, holding up his hands.  He was surprised to see that his skin was almost jet-black now and his hair was silvery-white.  His clothing had changed as well.  He was now dressed in a black shirt and pants with a dark green cloak.  A bandolier crossed his chest and held a sword at his back.  For a moment he was speechless.

"You're now the pokemon world version of yourself.  In your case, you've become a drow, hence the problem with the lights earlier.  As for me, I guess I haven't changed much.  At least, not physically."

"Wait a minute.  Are you saying that we're in the world of pokemon?" Darkelf asked.

"Yes."

He suddenly jumped up, startling Yossarian.  "Cool!  I wanna catch an Eevee!"  With that, he dashed for the door.  Reaper, who had been standing guard, caught him by the arm before he could get too far.  In a few seconds, the sadist had a knife to the drow's throat.

"I don't think the boss has finished talking with you yet," he growled.

"Relax, Reaper," Yossarian said as she walked over.  "You can let him go."  As the Houndoom morph released Darkelf, Yossarian added, "Besides, you've already got a pokemon."  She pointed to the pokeball attached to the drow's belt that he had not noticed before.  He took it in his hand, enlarged it, then held it out as it opened suddenly.  Red light poured out of the ball, reforming itself into the shape of a pokemon.  When the light dimmed, an Umbreon remained standing on the ground, glancing about curiously.

"See?  You already had an Eevee evolution," Yossarian said with a grin.  "So, what's its name, anyway?"

"Xaero," Darkelf answered, knowing the name instinctively.  

"Nice.  Now, we have to get on to more important business, Dark," the girl stated.  "You see, I didn't bring you here just for fun.  We've got a lot of work ahead of us if we're going to succeed in conquering the pokemon world."

"You're trying to conquer the pokemon world?" Darkelf asked.

"Not trying, my friend, succeeding.  It'll be only too easy for us to own this overly-cheerful little existence.  There's just one problem—some authors of light have been brought here with hopes of stopping us.  In order to teach them a lesson in humility, we are going to need some new author allies of our own.  I was hoping you could provide some assistance in the recruitment department."

Darkelf smiled coldly.  "You know I'd love to help you take over the world, Yoz.  In fact, I think I've got the perfect spell to find you some friends."

"Oh?  Like what?"

"Well…Ever heard of Gating?" 

****

A few hours later, Yossarian found herself faced with a motley crew of authors.  All had agreed, some less enthusiastically than others, to serve her in the domination of the pokemon world.  Her eyes trailed across the new authors, scrutinizing each one.  

"Is this all of them?" Yossarian asked Darkelf, who was standing next to her.

"Yes," he answered.  "The best I could find and pull through the Gate spell."

Yossarian nodded approvingly.  "They'll do just fine."  Then she addressed the new dark authors, "As you should all know, I am Yossarian, soon-to-be ruler of this world.  You all work for me, don't forget that.  I am in charge and Darkelf is my second in command.  Insubordination will not be tolerated."  Yossarian paused after that statement.  She had wanted Reaper to be present, to show who would be enforcing her orders, but he had withdrawn to his dungeon, citing his need to torture as a reason for leaving.  Yossarian had permitted him to leave, knowing full well that he could be dangerous if his sadistic appetite was not sated regularly.

The dark author pushed the thoughts aside as she paced down the line of her new allies.  "Now you know who I am.  It's time for you to introduce yourselves.  Let's start with you," she said to a boy dressed in torn jeans, a gray shirt, and a silver overcoat.  He stepped forward and ran a hand through his strawberry-blond hair, his blue eyes glinting like metal.

"My name's Steel Rogue," he stated.  "I'm a master of steel pokemon, and I look forward to crushing our enemies into dust."  He gave Yossarian a smile and bowed slightly.  She nodded in acknowledgement and turned to the next person in line, an eleven-foot-tall, red-striped, anthropomorphic Charizard with long blond hair and wearing a white T-shirt.  

"I'm Charmega," she said, "a Charizard anthro."

"Obviously," Yossarian commented dryly.  "So, I assume you've got at least some sort of fire-breathing capability?"

"Naturally.  However, I've got plenty of other talents.  I can heal injuries, change color like a chameleon, and I've got dimensional teleportation abilities.  I'm also psychic."

"Psychic," Yossarian repeated.  "I suggest you keep that particular talent to yourself.  There are some people around here who don't tolerate psi powers."  Before Charmega could ask what she meant, Yossarian was already talking to the next author.  "Don't tell me you're psychic as well."

"Not at all," the author answered.  She was a well-tanned girl with ice-blue eyes and matching hair that was done up in a messy bun.  The girl was wearing a black jumpsuit that had an armband the same color as her eyes and hair.  A small, silver knife hung from a belt fixed loosely around her waist.  "I don't need to be psychic.  If there's anything I want to know about someone, I can hack into computer files and find it out that way."

"A computer specialist will definitely give us an edge," Yossarian said thoughtfully.  "What did you say your name was?"

"It's Angel, but that's not all I can do.  I'm an excellent fighter and I can create illusions to confuse—"

"Most battles are fought away from the front lines, Angel," Yossarian interrupted.  "I don't think we'll have a problem with brute strength," her eyes flicked to Charmega, "but hacking is something our side is lacking in.  You'll stick with that."

"Okay," the other girl said, slightly disappointed.  

Ignoring the tone in Angel's voice, Yossarian turned to the girl standing beside the computer hacker.  This girl was tall, about 5'7".  She had grayish eyes and long curly red hair.  She was dressed in a red T-shirt, navy blue zipper vest and navy blue warm-up pants.  Her hair was done up in a ponytail sticking out from under her red baseball cap.

The girl grinned and said, "The name's Darkness Master, but you can call me DM for short if you want.  I'm not a computer person like Angel there, but I'm a good fighter.  You see, I can fly, teleport, and create energy shields.  You want a demonstration?"

"Maybe some other time," said Yossarian.  Though she kept her face from showing it, she was mildly surprised by Darkness Master's outgoing personality.  "Just save up your strength for when we attack the authors of light."

"Can do, boss!"

"Right…Okay, who else do we have?"

A girl of medium height stepped forward.  She moved with the grace and eloquence of a woman of high society, though she was dressed in fairly unimpressive faded jeans and a dark purple T-shirt.  Her waist-length hair was bright red and her blue-gray eyes held a sort of quiet menace to them.

"I am known as Lady Rapidash," she announced.  "The name stems from my ability to turn into a Rapidash."

Yossarian smiled darkly.  "How appropriate," she said mostly to herself, thinking of the foolish girl and Rapidash from the Valley of Fallen Embers.  She began to say something else but cut herself off.  As the dark author looked at Lady Rapidash, she could almost swear she caught sight of a woman in white standing behind her.  But as soon as Yossarian tried to focus on the image, it was gone.  She frowned slightly and rubbed her eyes with one hand.

"Something wrong, Yoz?" Darkelf asked her quietly so the others would not hear.

"It's nothing," she responded.  "My eyes are just playing tricks on me."  Shaking her head, she looked at the next person.  He was a rather skinny boy and was wearing a plain outfit of a long black shirt with black pants.  "How about you?"

"Sensei," he answered simply.  When it was clear he had nothing more to say, Yossarian moved on to a different author.  This one was a young girl.  She had golden-brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and dark bluish-black eyeglasses on.  She was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and a short black skirt and had a black choker around her neck.  She would have appeared to be completely human, except for her navy devil's tail and small black wings with a fire pattern across the bottom of them.  At the moment, she was fawning over a baby Meowth in her arms.

"I hate to interrupt," Yossarian said sardonically, "but you have to introduce yourself."

The girl's head shot up in surprise.  "Huh?  Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed with a wide grin.  "My name's Stephanie, hell's angel.  See, the wings and tail earned me that title.  I may be young, but don't let that fool you!  I'm one nasty little devil on the battlefield!"

Yossarian frowned as the girl continued to detail her love of fighting and killing.  This one was more hyperactive than Darkness Master.  Such overt cheerfulness tended to be very grating on the dark author's nerves.  She cut off Stephanie's prattling with a curt wave of her hand and moved on to the next person, who appeared to be some sort of wolf hybrid.  This girl was completely normal above the waist.  Below, however, she had a wolf's legs and tail.  She wore a gray bikini top and had gray hair down to her waist.  Her eyes had the same tawny color of her fur.  She was carrying a bow slung over one shoulder and a quiver of arrows on her back.

"And you are?"

"Rabid Wolf, hunter, tracker, and warrior."  The wolf girl gave Yossarian a salute.  "You word is my command, and I will never fail in a mission.  All my arrows are poisoned, I fight like a wolf going for the kill, and I can blend in to any sort of background."

Rabid Wolf's attitude cheered Yossarian a bit.  "Such loyalty and determination are admirable."  Rabid Wolf smiled at the comment and bowed respectfully.  "Now, who else do we have?"

"Me," a girl said, raising a hand slightly.  "I'm LavenderEspeon."  The name was appropriate, as purple seemed to be the dominant color in her appearance.  Her long blond hair was streaked with purple, she wore a violet long-sleeved shirt with faded jeans and a faded jean jacket, and the hemp necklace she wore had an odd, glowing purple charm.  Even her eyes were purple.  It was the eye color, as well as the "Espeon" in her name that caught Yossarian's attention.

"Are you psychic?" she asked.

"No, but I can speak to any Espeon."

"As long as you're not psychic, everything is fine.  Is speaking Espeon your only talent?"

"Well, I'm good at coming up with plans in the middle of a battle and the charm on my necklace can heal any blade-inflicted wound except for amputations."

"Then you are expected to keep that necklace out of enemy hands.  Understand?"

"Of course."

"Good."  Yossarian then faced the final author in her ranks.  He was shorter than her, standing at about five feet tall.  He was dressed in camouflage pants and a pure black shirt.  Spiky blond hair poked out from under a Harry Potter hand he was wearing backwards.  

"My name is Articuno, master of flying pokemon," he said.  "Just like the pokemon I prefer to train, I can fly great distances and will never tire.  I am also gifted with super strength that cannot be matched and can control the Force."

"Jedi, huh?" Yossarian said with a smirk.  "Interesting."  She turned away from the group of dark authors and beckoned Darkelf over to her side.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

"Very nice.  They're strong, but I'm still unsure of the powers of the authors of light.  They probably have as many varied talents as we do."

"Well," Darkelf said with a grim smile, "I suppose there's only one way to find out…"

Yossarian grinned back.  "Right."  She turned back to the dark authors, still grinning in anticipation.  "All right, everyone get ready.  Tomorrow, we launch a strike against the authors of light!"

Author's End Notes: I feel that I should explain something: some of the bad guy characterizations were not suggested by their creators, I just felt that was the way to write the person.  For instance, Steel Rogue seemed like a real smooth-talker, ladies man kinda guy (although I'm not sure why), Lady Rapidash is of high breeding and therefore very eloquent and refined, and Rabid Wolf has a bit of a medieval/fantasy manner of speaking.  If this pisses any of you guys off, let me know so I can change it.

Interactivity: Tada!  The first interactive question!  Bad guys, you've had your first encounter with Yossarian, your boss, as well as those you will be working with.  What are your impressions or opinions of the others?  Have you already found someone who could be your best friend or blood enemy?  Does Yossarian think too highly of herself?  Are you pissed that she seems to be choosing favorites already?  Let me know what your character thinks in a review!


End file.
